Running my sister’s bed-and-breakfast in our small town should have been a piece of cake. Until I opened the door to our new guest and came face to face with the man I had a one-night stand with a year ago. And he was looking at me like I was a total stranger.
Nate Sullivan was fourteen years older than me and was my brother’s best friend. Not to mention a billionaire CEO that looked just as good in well-worn jeans and a T-shirt as he did in a suit. And when he was with his girls? There was no way I couldn’t fall for him.
We both had tarnished pasts that kept our hearts out of the mix. But being with him now gave me a confidence I didn’t know was missing.
It wasn’t until his twin daughters forced us to dance that we acted on our chemistry. And though it was explosive, our time together was limited. As the nights ticked away, we learned time wasn’t the only thing that worked against us.
Alex is a small-town girl who grew up with big dreams that were ripped away before they could be realized. She longed for more but couldn’t bring herself to leave the family farm, especially after her sister moved to the city and Alex saw just how much it broke their mother’s heart for Autumn to be so far away. Now she has a job and helps with the family business, an event venue, while she takes college courses remotely. She no longer feels the need to leave but she dreams of opening a cake shop so she could put her business degree to good use doing something she loves.
Life is pretty routine for Alex, except for a steamy one-night stand last year. It was too good to be true because he was gorgeous and talented and didn’t want any more from her. That’s all she ever wanted since her rotten ex broke her heart because she wasn’t ever going to let anyone hurt her like that again. When they come face-to-face a year later, she’s horrified to realize her mystery man is her brother’s best friend but even more aghast that he doesn’t even recognize her.
It’s driving her crazy that he doesn’t remember her so she just tells him and Nate’s horrified. He was going through something at the time and was extremely intoxicated that night but still feels terrible about it, as he should. Alex accepts his contrition and doesn’t hold it against him. His ex-wife destroyed his life then dumped their twins on his cold, uncaring parents while he was on a business trip. Bad weather prevented him from getting home to them, so he drowned his sorrows in a small-town bar and spent the night with a beautiful woman, never realizing it was his best friend’s sister.
They agree that Andrew never needs to know about their dalliance, but the more time they spend together, the stronger the pull. The attraction seems to grow every day and it’s not just that Alex is gorgeous and smart, she’s also amazing with his girls, who crave a woman’s attention. It’s more complicated than just his best friend’s sister for Nate, though. Andrew’s parents treat him like one of their own and with his own parents being so distant and cold, the Easterly clan is his only family.
They fight the attraction for as long as they can and when they finally decide to give in, agree this is just physical, no strings attached. There’s lots of hot sneaking around but you can only press your luck so much before you get caught by a four-year-old who waits until a big family dinner to announce what she’s seen. But when things spin out of control, they’re both forced to realize this is more than just friends with benefits.
This is short but sweet with plenty of steam and lots of humor. I loved the characters, especially the twins, and particularly enjoyed the restaurant scene. This is a standalone in an inter-connected series so you don’t have to read Time For You, Autumn and Colton’s book, first but I highly recommend it, as Sunny Brook Farms is quickly becoming a favorite for me. I’d like to thank the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
